Multiplayer

We still have over 10 days before Left 4 Dead 2 is released but today Valve has given the go-ahead for people who pre-ordered the zombie shooter sequel to start pre-loading the game onto their hard drives via the Steam client. That means PC games who take advantage of this opportunity should be able to play the game only a few minutes after Valve unlocks the game on November 17.

Keep in mind that Valve still has that 10 percent pre-order discount for the game. It's still in effect until the game's release date. Also the Four Pack deal (where you purchase four Steam codes of the game at once) is also still available for the 10 percent discount which means you can pay for four copies for the price of less than three in the current price promotion.

Just a reminder that we are running yet another giveaway contest here at Big Download. Some of you reading this have a chance to win a free download code via Steam for the just released Shattered Horizon, the multiplayer zero-g space based first person shooter.

Do you want a chance to check out this new and innovative game from developer Futuremark Games Studio? Of course you do. Then head over to our contest page, make sure you are eligible to enter our contest and if you are put down a comment on that page. You still have until 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Monday to get your entry in place.

Many members of the media have been trying to get a hold of Infinity Ward to clarify their decisions regarding the PC port of Modern Warfare 2. Kotaku managed to get the developer's community manager Robert Bowling on the horn but unfortunately he didn't address the issues PC gamers have had with the upcoming shooter directly (no dedicated servers, no word on mod support, etc).

Instead Bowling generalized their decisions regarding the PC version, saying once again they wanted to make the game more accessible to the average player. He dismissed the people who have complained about the changes as a loud minority saying, "We have 14 million players on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The hardcore gamers make up a smaller core of that, and PC gamers are the smallest group of that core. It is a very vocal community and they are all online."

Bowling also feels that because their community is so highly invested in their games, " . . . we should justify every design decision to them." However he also feels that the developer shouldn't be held to those demands completely, saying, "We know our game very well. Some of the stuff you have to put in there and have faith in your design. Some things don't sound good out of context. You don't see the beauty of them until you experience them for yourselves." When asked if the next Modern Warfare game would even be made for the PC, Bowing dodged the question saying that they don't know what their next game will be.

In 1979, Moonraker was first shown in movie theaters. It's perhaps the dumbest premise ever for a James Bond movie: A super rich psycho with a Hitler complex decides to kill everyone on Earth via a bio-weapon in favor of his own specially picked humans. In order to kill everyone on the planet all at once he decides to build a space station to fire pods that would disperse the weapon from orbit.

The final battle takes place in and around this space station as a fleet of US Space Marines (yep, that's what they are called) head up in a space shuttle. The Marines and the villainous minions, all wearing bulky space suits, fire at each other with lasers in Earth's orbit. Again, it's really dumb for a James Bond movie but in another context, this kind of space battle had not really been seen before. In fact since Moonraker we have yet to see this kind of space combat duplicated for any other movie or TV show.

Looks like the so-called "protest" by a group of gamers against the release of Left 4 Dead 2 had just about zero effect on pre-orders for Valve's zombie shooter sequel. According to Computer and Video Games' Valve's Chet Faliszek stated that pre-orders have come in at "four times" the amount of the original game released just a year ago.

And what about those protesters who feel that releasing Left 4 Dead 2 just over a year after the original would split the community and is simply a way for Valve to get more money? Faliszek states that there will always be someone complaining about something and adds, "Honestly I made the joke and it's true: If you put $20 in a box and charge $10 for it someone would complain you didn't put $50 in a box."

Gallery: Left 4 Dead 2

It looks like other download sites have decided to drawn a line in the sand over the decision by Infinity Ward and Activision to incorporate Steamworks into the PC port of Modern Warfare 2. Direct2Drive has already stated it won't sell the upcoming shooter because it intergrates the Steam features into the game. Now Voodoo Extreme reports that Stardock's Impulse won't sell the game either for the same reasons. Furthermore Kotaku reports that GamersGate has confirmed they won't make Modern Warfare 2 available for sale on their stores for the same reasons.

While we again point out that Steam-supported games have been sold by IGN's Direct2Drive in the past (Empire: Total War and Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II) it looks like they and the other two sites have all put their finger down in this case to protest having Steam be a requirement for purchasing Modern Warfare 2. We have emaield Valve, Infinity Ward and Activision for comment.

It's looking like one of the biggest PC game developers, id Software, could decide (and we emphasize "could") not to offer dedicated servers for online multiplayer in their next game Rage. In an article on Variety, id Software' John Carmack is quoted as saying, ""It's not cast in stone yet, but at this point no, we don't think we will have dedicated servers."

The specific reasons for such a move are not really spelled out in the brief article, stating that Carmack felt "the servers are something of a remnant of the early days of PC gaming." However he hasn't closed the door to such a move saying, "We'll see how it works out for everyone else." At the moment Rage won't likely be out until sometime in 2010.

During the Q&A session of Activision Blizzard's financial conference call, an investor asked company execs if they have seen any impact on the sales of the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 due to the game's lack of dedicated server support. Company execs stated they were watching developments on that front closely but that overall they were not that concerned about the impact of those decisions.

The execs reiterated the arguments that Infinity Ward gave when they first announced their move to create a internally run matchmaking system to handle multiplayer matches in the game. This will result in an upper player match limit of 18 compared to the 32 player (or more) that had previously been the case with Call of Duty games in the past.

Activision Blizzard execs also feel that the PC version could be more accessible to an audience that is not used to the dedicated server system. Ultimately they feel the changes will far out way any negatives that will be made with such a move.

Modern Warfare 2 must feel like everyone is piling on it. From the reveal of some controversial scenes to the lack of dedicated servers for the PC version to a unfortunate release of a PSA, the upcoming shooter from Infinity Ward has not had the best publicity. Now yet another issue has popped up as IGN's Direct2Drive site has openly stated they won't provide the downloadable PC version of the game to download.

In a listing for the game on their site, they state:

At Direct2Drive, we believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased. Because COD MW 2 requires you, the consumer, to do that, we aren't able to offer the game via Direct2Drive at this time.

They are clearly calling out the game's use of Valve's Steam service to offer automatic updates, among other things, for Modern Warfare 2 as their reason for their refusal to run the game. Direct2Drive is offering a $5 online coupon code on their site to purchase any other game from Activision until Nov. 30. We do find the arguments suspect since other games on Direct2Drive have installs for Steam (like Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II) and Games For Windows Live.

It's been a few days since our last giveaway so it's time we gave our Big Download readers a chance to win something cool. In this case we got three Steam download codes to give out that will let the winners download the full version of Shattered Horizon, the just released multiplayer first person shooter from developer Futuremark Games Studios.

As with most of our contests, entering the giveaway is simple:

• To enter, post a comment on this contest page.
• The comment must be left before 11:59 pm Eastern Time on November 9
  
• You may enter only once.
• Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Those three winners will be sent a Steam code that can be use to download a full copy of Shattered Horizon (valued at $19.99 each)
  
• Click Here for complete Official Rules. You must be a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) who is 18 years or older to enter this contest.
• Also keep in mind that this game can only be run on Windows Vista or Windows 7 with at least a DirectX10 based graphics card.

Our thanks to Futuremark Games Studio for the donation of the prizes. Good luck.

You may remember a few days ago that folks were getting scammed into sending their personal info thanks to a fake Battlefield Bad Company 2 beta sign up dealie. Well today we have some official news about the beta test for the upcoming first person shooter.

First the bad news: Folks who have a PS3 will get first crack at the beta test for the Digital Illusions-developed game. The PS3 beta begins on November 19 via a code that folks can get when the pre-order the game from several retailers. The good news is that the PC version of the beta will be launched sometime in December and a full blown multiplayer demo will be released for all of the game's platforms in early 2010 ahead of the game's release on March 2.

This patch for Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising installs the Skirmish pack DLC expansion and addresses a number of gameplay issues. Content includes four multiplayer maps and two Fire Team Engagements. A full list of changes along with information about for the Skirmish pack DLC can be seen after the jump.

Download Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising 'Skirmish DLC' Patch (232 MB)
Download HD Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising DLC Trailer (91 MB)
Check out all Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising downloads

This trailer showcases the new features that will be included in the first Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising DLC expansion, set to release tomorrow. The Skirmish pack will include four new multiplayer maps and additional fire team engagements.

Download HD Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising DLC Trailer (91 MB)
Check out all Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising downloads

Futuremark has made its mark (pun intended) in the past with its benchmarking software, especially 3DMark which has become a defacto product to put high end PC hardware through its paces. However the company has also wanted to make games and in 2008 it announced its plans to start up Futuremark Games Studios.

Later today its first title, the multiplayer first person shooter Shattered Horizon, is scheduled to be released via Steam. As one might expect their first game is not the typical FPS as it takes place in Earth orbit with players as armed astronaunts shooting in zero gravity. Big Download got the game's lead designer Antti Summala to give us some more info on Shattered Horizon and get some hints about the future plans for the game.

Codemasters has been saying for a while that they have some major downloadable content plans for Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. Today the developer/publisher of the recent military shooter announced that the first such release, the Skirmish pack, will be made available to download tomorrow along with the game's first patch.

The Skirmish pack will add four new multiplayer maps to the game along with two Fire Team Engagement missions for single and co-op play. The patch will also address a number of issues that have crept up since the game was released just under a month ago. Unlike the console version the Skirmish DLC wlll be free to download for the PC version.